Submitted by Linda Barnhart and Karen Simonelic, Hagerstown, Maryland and Racine, Wisconsin
Idea posted April 13, 2004
Suggestion #1 - I made a carpet roll rainstick several years ago, but I found the nails to be a pain. They were too heavy, and I couldn't find nails the right size to cross the tube but not be too long. Instead, I used a drill and dowel rods about the size of a small nail in diameter. (I don't remember the exact size.) The dowels could be easily cut with a pair of wire cutters. We used the side of a piece of computer paper (the kind with feeder holes along the sides), using the paper holes as a guide to make the holes in the tube wrap evenly around. Just wrap the edge of the paper around the tube at an angle, and mark every fourth or fifth hole. I remember starting out with the holes fairly close together, and then moving them further apart as we went down the tube. I drilled the holes and stuck in the dowel rods. We used tape to decorate the rainstick, and that has helped to keep the dowel rods in place. - Linda Barnhart in Hagerstown, MD
Suggestion #2 - We made rainsticks using only recycled materials. Instead of pounding nails, we stuffed the carpet tubes full of the plastic ring holders that connect six/eight packs of soda. (The students loved stuffing the tubes.) You have to use rice, small beans, or sand to get an effective sound. Also, I found that stuffing the tubes with lengths of heavy-duty aluminum foil worked, but it is not as nice of a sound. - Karen Simonelic in Racine, WI